Belief in worshiping Hung Vuong in Phu Tho

From thousands of old and forever after, in the minds of Vietnamese " King Hung ", " To Hung ", " con Lac ni Hong ", " Con Rong Gioi Tien ", " Lac Hong lineage " . always is a high sacred beauty symbol. It is the most sacred, most beautiful symbol of morality " Drinking water, remember the source ", " Remembering the fruit tree " with the relationship of fellow people and compatriots.

1. Historical origins of Hung Vuong's death anniversary

According to legend, Lac Long Quan - son of Kinh Duong Vuong Loc Tuc took Au Co - daughter of King Lai's daughter and gave birth to a hundred eggs, hatched into hundreds of sons. After that, fifty children followed their mother to the mountain, fifty people followed their father to the sea to settle down.

Hung Temple

The eldest son followed his mother to the land of Phong Chau (now Phu Tho) to establish Van Lang and was honored as King Hung . Van Lang was the first state in Vietnamese history, ruled by 18 kings. Hung Kings have taught people to cultivate wet rice and choose Nghia Linh mountain, the highest mountain in the region to perform rituals according to the beliefs of agricultural inhabitants such as worshiping rice gods and sun gods to pray for good and peaceful rain and seasons. Good fresh membranes, all things multiply and flourish.

Incense offering ceremony at Hung Temple.

To remember the great merits of the Hung Kings, the people established a memorial temple (the historical relic of Hung Temple) whose center is Nghia Linh Mountain and takes the 10th of the third lunar month every year as the death anniversary. . From this first self-worshiping center, the Hung Vuong worship worship gradually spread, with long-lasting life from one life to another, from plain to mountainous, from north to south, from abroad to abroad. The country was prosperous at times, sometimes dominated by foreign invaders, but the worship of Hung Vuong was still maintained by generations until today and forever after.

2. Hung Vuong's death anniversary - Typical cultural identity belief

Derived from the cultural ethics " Humor of the raw capital / Drink water remember the source "; Worship of Hung King has become a typical cultural belief and deeply indigenous of Vietnamese people. The anniversary of the Patriarch's death is not merely the day when the four-way descendants converge to burn incense to worship the Ancestors but also the day of cultural exchange between the regions of the same border.

Across all roads, every countryside, the first place of the stream, in the minds of the Vietnamese people, the bones are carved, deeply the sacred memory of a common source:

" No matter who goes backwards

Remember the Anniversary of March 10

All over the region, transmitting the verse

Young water is still a thousand years old. "

In the fifteenth century (in 1470), the Hau Le house for the editor of Ngoc Pha Hung Vuong with the full name was: " Hung, the Holy King of the Holy King of the ancient phoenix jade / the ancient genealogy of 18 generations of the Holy King's Hung Dynasty " has identified a unique position to build the country, the people belong to the Hung Kings. Officially, Hung Temple has been identified as a religious center to worship Hung King of Vietnamese people.

Performing ceremonies and offering ceremonies to King Hung.

With the concept of spiritual culture "where children and grandchildren, grandparents, ancestors are there ". The Vietnamese people worshiped Hung King as a presence characterized by the self-reliant consciousness of a flourishing nation. According to " Nam Viet god of continent " written in 1763; In the eighteenth century in our country, there were 73 villages worshiping Hung Vuong, but by 2005, according to the book " Relics worshiping Hung Vuong in Vietnam " by the Department of Basic Information and Culture - Ministry of Culture - Information There are 1417 places to worship Hung Vuong and related figures of the Dynasty.

In the memory of the Vietnamese people - Hung King was portrayed as an army officer, the king opened the country, gave birth to people, built villages, built the country . and then passed away, following the following centuries, the King himself became Thuy To citadel of the Vietnamese, born a hundred eggs, hatched 100 sons - forming the concept, meaning " people ".

Hung Vuong's death anniversary - Gratitude of the merit of the ancestor To Tien has become a characteristic cultural identity of Vietnamese people and became a wisdom in Vietnamese culture.

The accumulation of banh chung cake under King Hung.

Belief in worshiping Hung Vuong has many diverse forms, typically the Hung King is worshiped (worshiped) with many characters such as Princess Tien Dung and Ngoc Hoa; the Hung dynasty, Hung minister; Tan Vien Son Thanh; Hai Ba Trung . in relics clusters in Phu Tho. Form of worship with Long Hai Dai Vuong, Phu Dong Thien Vuong, Mai An Tiem, Chu Dong Tu, Lac Long Quan children . also developed strongly in Hanoi, Thai Binh, Hai Duong and Thanh Hoa . In many places, Hung Kings were worshiped at the altar of the family. Vietnamese people living abroad when on occasion also "visit" the incense base in the Land (Phu Tho) to bring back and place on the altar of the family.

Every year, on the 10th day of the third lunar month, Hung King's death anniversary is held in Hung Kings' temples and temples throughout the country, in which the largest ritual takes place in the historical area of ​​Hung Temple. In Phu Tho, communal villages, Hung Kings temple each year appoints a Secretariat consisting of 6 - 9 men to preside over and administer worship rituals. The Secretariat again selected a Master from the duty of overseeing and guiding the practice at the place of worship, year-round smoke for Hung King.

Besides, the selection of Leader and team is always strictly complied with by villages. When taking the Priest, the chosen person himself must practice the worshiping gestures for mastery to run the activities of the team.

The offerings for the ceremonies (from the opening ceremony to the procession, the closing ceremony of the communal house / temple) are carefully selected and prepared, mainly with sticky rice, fruits, wine, golden incense, rice. , salt, boiled chicken (castrated rooster), raw pork (black pig), banh chung and thick cake .

Every year, children and grandchildren gather about Hung Temple.

The activities of the festival are conducted according to the procession of palanquin from the temple to the temple / temple, then go around the village and return to the starting place. Order of the procession teams is also clearly defined, the first is the dragon / unicorn dance team, followed by the magic flag team, the ceremonial ritual team, the bowl of the yoke, the two rows of bowls and the air bowl, the palanquin team strives (procession incense sticks, the throne team and the people, the team, and finally the people. Sacrificing rituals include incense offering, offering offerings, reading wishes, praying, performing traditional performances such as bronze drum, Xoan singing, water procession, island ceremony .

During the festival, there are also many traditional folk games such as blindfolded goats, tug-of-war, robbing flags, swimming competitions, catching ducks on ponds / rivers, pig pens, filling, biting, catching and catching in jars, jokes .

With unique and unique values, on December 6, 2012, in Paris (France), UNESCO officially recognized Hung Vuong Worship of Religion in Phu Tho as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of its representative. type i. This is the first legacy of Vietnam to be honored in this type of belief. This is also the first time UNESCO has recognized the worship of the Patriarch as the representative intangible Cultural Heritage of mankind. The scope of recognition of the estate includes 109 villages with communal houses, King Hung temple in Phu Tho town, Viet Tri city and Cam Khe, Doan Hung, Ha Hoa, Lam Thao, Phu Ninh, Tam Nong and Thanh Ba districts. , Thanh Son, Thanh Thuy, Yen Lap (Phu Tho province).

Ha Phu Tho Temple

Thuong Temple

Tam Quan Temple of Au Co temple

Au Co Temple Temple

Tam Quan Ha Temple

Tomb of King Hung

Procession procession at Hung Temple.

The festival also has many interesting traditional folk games.

The Hung Kings' death anniversary is an affirmation of the cultural identity of the Vietnamese people and has become a driving force for the solidarity of the Vietnamese people. That culture, that moral foundation is increasingly strengthened, development has become the life, morality and belief for Vietnamese generations and become the champion power of the Vietnamese community to step firmly on you. the road of industrialization and modernization of the country for the purpose of rich people, strong countries, democratic, fair and civilized society.